Amending to Art. 90 of the Revised Penal Code Re: Prescriptive Period for Libel
Republic Act No. 4661, enacted on June 18, 1966, amends Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code to shorten the prescriptive periods for various crimes, particularly libel and similar offenses. It establishes that libel will prescribe in one year, while oral defamation and slander by deed will prescribe in six months, and light offenses in two months. More serious crimes, such as those punishable by death or reclusion, have a twenty-year prescriptive period. The law does not apply to libel cases that were already filed in court when the act was approved. The amendments took effect upon approval.
June 18, 1966
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4661
AN ACT SHORTENING THE PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD FOR LIBEL AND OTHER SIMILAR OFFENSES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE NINETY OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE
SECTION 1. Article ninety of the Revised Penal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Art. 90. Prescription of crimes. — Crimes punishable by death, reclusión perpetua or reclusión temporal shall prescribe in twenty years.
"Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in fifteen years. cd i
"Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five years.
"The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year.
"The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six months.
"Light offenses prescribe in two months.
"When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one, the highest penalty shall be made the basis of the application of the rules contained in the first, second and third paragraphs of this article."
SECTION 2. The provision of this amendatory Act shall not apply to cases of libel already filed in court at the time of approval of this amendatory Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 18, 1966
Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 64, No. 46, p. 11769 on November 11, 1968